Book Review: Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber
A fantastical novel about real world magic, folklore, and a clock running out of time, check out my full review for Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber below!
Book Information
Holland is a graduate student who studies Hollywood folklore, believes in the devil, and thinks there’s magic out there. However, when she encounters one of the tales that her professor taught in her folklore class, Holland is thrust into the world of Hollywood’s magic, and it definitely isn’t what she thought it would be. As she races against the clock and the many many people who may or may not be trying to kill her, Holland discovers more about herself, magic, and the mysterious death of her parents than she ever truly thought would be possible. But it may just cost her own life.
Review | Heidi Dischler
This was my Book of the Month pick a while back, and if I’m being completely honest, I got it for the cover and the fact that it was the first Book of the Month book that I’ve seen with sprayed edges (I was so stoked!!!). So, basically what I’m saying is that I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading this book.
With all that being said, I actually really enjoyed reading Alchemy of Secrets. There are some chapters about the actual folklore stories written in second person point of view (which really bothered me because why), and then there are the chapters that are actually following the main character’s current story. Obviously, I didn’t like the second person point of view even if the folklore stories were necessary to the story as a whole. With the actual story, I found it interesting and action-packed almost the entire way through.
So, we’re following Holland as she discovers that all of the folklore stories that she’s studied for her thesis are actually true. Not only that, but she finds out that she’ll die at midnight on Halloween unless she can find the one magical object that is the most powerful object in the magic world. Already a good setup for a story. I liked that you basically jump right in and it’s go-go-go after that.
Holland as a character is pretty good and she seems to not be extremely helpless (even though, at times, she was driving me nuts and I didn’t understand a single decision she made). But as a whole, her character was developed and had a decent personality. Other than that, I honestly was disappointed that they mentioned her twin sister SO much and you never truly met her (or even heard a conversation with her). There are other characters who become important, but a lot of why they were important confused the heck out of me.
Spoilers ahead.
I was legit SO confused by the whole “was Gabe sent by my sister? Was Adam sent by my sister?” But I guess, with finding out the Adam was the one trying to kill her, we can deduce that he wasn’t sent by her sister. Man, though, it was giving ME major trust issues. Not only that, but the time loop thing at the end? Did we ever really get a good explanation for that?
Overall, I enjoyed the story, the fast-pacing, and our main character, but a LOT of the wrap up at the end left me confused. All in all, though, I really did enjoy the story. I just think it was a little too much folklore to pack into one book and weave together (soooo many different threads). I rated this 3.5/5 rounded up to 4/5 for social platforms.
Source: Book of the Month Pick
(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Everand, which gives you one free audiobook or ebook of your choice!)
